


Robots & Redemption

by crimsonhawk



Series: The Specter of Death Universe [2]
Category: Kim Possible (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-20
Updated: 2013-01-20
Packaged: 2017-11-26 04:37:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/646639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonhawk/pseuds/crimsonhawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. Vivian Porter is trying to design robots for use as laborers on an upcoming manned lunar base project. Dr. James Possible calls in a most unusual assistant for Vivian, just in time for the heroes to be forced to confront the evil skills of Frugal Lucre. -mild KIGO reference at the tail end-</p>
            </blockquote>





	Robots & Redemption

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to all the readers who have kept up with The Specter of Death. This is the second story in that series. This is technically not a KiGo story, although it is set in the TSOD Universe shortly after the conclusion of TSOD itself. This is meant to be light-hearted and to challenge me to write something other than KiGo lemon scenes. ;-)

**Disclaimer:** Kim Possible and all IP as it is presented in the canon animated television series is Copyright and Trademark by the Disney Company, using characters originally created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle. This is a transformative fan fiction work.

**THE SPECTER OF DEATH: ROBOTS & REDEMPTION**

Dr. Vivian Francis Porter was a beautiful woman by every definition of the word. She was slender and trim, yet possessed of envious curves, with long, golden blonde hair, soft creamy skin, bold blue eyes, and gentle, full lips. Her long legs and firm ass turned heads on the worst of days. She even possessed a “beauty mark,” a cute, freckle-like mole just above the left edge of her lips.

Dr. Vivian Francis Porter was also one of the most accomplished research scientists at the Middleton Space Center.

When the then-teen hero Kim Possible first confronted Vivian about the thefts of Dr. Fenn’s robots and then helped Vivian confront Dr. Fenn about the theft of _her_ intellectual work, Vivian found a long-lasting friendship in not only the redhead, but Kim’s father as well. Dr. James Possible was a senior researcher at the Space Center. Unlike any employer before him, James was able to look past her overwhelming physical attractiveness and see an intelligent and competent research scientist rather than a vapid blonde. Vivian took over Dr. Fenn’s job as robot developer under James’ recommendation.

Because of that, Vivian had a special place in her heart for the plucky teen hero and her father. She saw both as good friends and confidants. Recently, when the entire town of Middleton seemed to turn on Kim in the aftermath of the death of Ron Stoppable, Vivian was one of the few citizens of Middleton who didn’t hate Kim. Later, it was revealed that a mind control effect had enveloped the entire town and that only a few people were either shielded against the effect (like the Loads and the Possibles) or had the sheer willpower and goodwill towards Kim to overcome the effect (like Monique and Vivian). Thus, Vivian had been more than happy to contribute her robotics and AI expertise to the construction of Felix Renton’s new supersonic transport jet, the _Firebird_.

During this period of heightened activity and responsibility, Vivian left the administration of her beloved underground _Robot Rumble_ fight circuit to her good friend, the android Oliver. That thought made Vivian think over her life over the last few years. Without Oliver’s able assistance, she couldn’t have been able to handle all of the multitasking she had been doing. But while Oliver was artificially intelligent, he was still _programmed_ to be loyal to her. Oliver knew that, too, and the two of them have had “the talk” a couple of times over the last two years.

Vivian sighed and set aside the soldering iron she was using to perform last-minute adjustments to a robot chassis. “The Talk” was always pleasant and amicable, but it still hurt Vivian to the core. Not that Oliver was rejecting her. Oliver would always be loyal to his creator. But Oliver felt it was necessary to point out that she was exactly that... his _creator_. It was easy to stay in a comfort zone when you’ve custom-made your boyfriend to be exactly what you want him to be. There was no growth in character or emotion when one isn’t challenged by a partner with his own emotions, his own needs. And Oliver was concerned for Vivian on that front. Vivian always thanked Oliver for his concern, but cited her happiness with how her life was at the moment.

Vivian shook her head and looked back up at the chassis. She’d been working on this robot for three days straight. Oliver had come by to make sure she had ate and slept, of course, but otherwise it was the focus of all of her attention (beyond her currently straying thoughts). The United Nations’ Division of Stellar Exploration and Interplanetary Colonization was basically an international version of the United States’ NASA program and had commissioned the Middleton Space Center to design a robot to be used as construction labor on the Earth’s Moon. Plans for a permanent manned station on the Moon was well underway, but humans themselves needed the station already built and a graviton generator in place before they could spend extended periods of time there. Otherwise, the human body would atrophy under the reduced gravity of the Moon and yadda yadda yadda. So Vivian was designing a robot who (with several dozen of its brethren) would build the station for humanity.

The AI was properly programmed and in place. It was the structure of the robot that was infuriating Vivian. The specifications that the Stellar Explorers (as they called themselves) needed included the ability to lift and move incredible amounts of mass. Even on the Moon, where gravitational pull was approximately one-sixth what it was on Earth, the amount of mass the Stellar Explorers were going to ask the robots to move in one go was staggering.

“Still plugging away at it, Dr. Porter?” a familiar, welcome, masculine voice came from behind Vivian.

Vivian turned to see the tall form of Dr. James Possible.

“Dr. Possible,” Vivian smiled wearily. She then sighed and looked back at the chassis. “Yeah, I’m still plugging away at this, James. I can’t get the structural integrity to the point where it can withstand lifting over 100 tons of material in one press. There has to be something I’m doing wrong.”

James nodded thoughtfully, looking at the chassis that the young, beautiful scientist was working on. It was sleek and beautiful, much like its creator. Maybe therein lay the problem.

“I think I may have an idea to help you towards a solution, Vivian,” James posited casually.

Vivian turned to consider the older scientist carefully.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

The fallen superhero known as Hego stepped carefully into the office into which the prison guards had escorted him. A year ago, the average person from the street would have been shocked and appalled to see the large hero walking along wearing an inhibitor collar and alpha-class hand restraints while being escorted through the halls of the Crate, a ultra-maximum security prison for supervillains ran by the United Nations’ Division of Global Justice and Law Enforcement. Then again, the average person from the street would have also been shocked and appalled to discover what Hego had done to deserve being in the position he was in.

As Hego stepped into the office, the man behind the desk at the far end of the room glanced up and smiled. The man was relatively tall, for a citizen (what Hego called normal people). He was just over six feet tall and broad shouldered. He had dark brown hair with hints of gray at the temples. His gentle, dark brown eyes sat behind a modest pair of eyeglasses. His sweater and slacks spoke for his casual professionalism. And his slightly rough skin only hinted at his age, which Hego believed to be a good ten years older than the forty-something he appeared to be.

“Henry,” the man smiled, standing up to greet the fallen hero. “Hello again, my friend.”

“Dr. Pendus,” Hego smiled, genuinely happy to see the man. “Hello to you too.”

Dr. Stuart Pendus was one of the nation’s foremost psychiatrists and one of the few who specialized in metahuman psychology. In fact, it was his work on metahuman psychology and the effect of metahuman powers on the dehumanization of the metahuman psyche that earned the man a Nobel prize. Now, in addition to running his own private practice, Dr. Pendus consulted for several law enforcement agencies, most notably Global Justice.

Stu motioned to a large, comfortable reclining sofa along the wall of his office. “Shall we begin our session, then, Henry?”

Hego smiled and nodded. Before his incarceration at the Crate, he would have balked at a citizen addressing him by his _real_ name. As a hero, he was Hego, pure and simple. Outside of Go Tower in Go City, he was Hego. Honestly, only his siblings, the heroes Mego and Wego and the villain Shego, ever called him Henry—and only rarely. Since his incarceration, Hego had warmed to the idea of being called Henry. As Stu had pointed out several times, and Hego was finally starting to agree, being addressed by his real name not only gave the addresser a sense of personal connection to Hego, but gave Hego a sense of personal connection to the addresser.

Hego had been missing that sense of personal connection for over a decade and had been in denial about it the entire time.

It had started with the death of Hego’s first (and only) crush. Gloria Whitedove, a beautiful Native American girl whom the Goldberg children had befriended early in their teenage years, had also been the hero Sidestep, whose powers involved teleportation of herself and others. She was beautiful, intelligent, self-reliant, and possessed a strong sense of justice, all qualities that made the then 17 year old boy fall head over heels for the then 15 year old girl.

Hego had been heartbroken to discover that not only did Sidestep _not_ reciprocate Hego’s love, but Sidestep had fallen in love with his 13 year old _sister_ , Shego. The revelation had shattered Hego to the point where he had willfully led the two girls into a trap that endangered both of the girls’ lives. _His_ intention was to force Sidestep to believe Shego was too dangerous to be around and flee into Hego’s arms instead. However, Sidestep sacrificed her life to save Shego. Shego had suspected Hego’s action and confronted him on the matter. When Hego lied and claimed his innocence, Shego quit Team Go, abandoned her family, and turned to villainy.

Hego had carried the guilt of that traumatizing event for well over a decade until he learned of Shego’s recently developed romantic relationship with her former archenemy, Kim Possible. Hego, now thoroughly in denial of his own complicity in Sidestep’s death, tried to stop and even kill Shego in an attempt to save Kim’s life and soul. It was only by the combined efforts of the newly expanded Team Possible and his brothers Mego and the Wego twins that Hego was stopped from doing so.

Hego was brought to trial, of course. He was convicted for negligent manslaughter for the death of Gloria Whitedove, kidnapping for Señor Senior Jr., attempted kidnapping for Kim Possible, and attempted murder for Shego. Due to his works as a hero, the court had been lenient with his sentence—the minimum of 20 years. However, he was also sentenced to psychiatric care for the duration of his sentence.

Hego’s time with Dr. Pendus had born fruit quickly and thoroughly. After several therapy sessions and some specialized medication for PTSD, anxiety, and dementia, Hego showed incredible recuperation from his mental illnesses. Hego was allowed to perform community service under supervision within a couple of months. By the time Team Possible conducted its raid on the lair of the villainess Electronique, Hego was not only allowed to participate in the raid but was also instrumental in the survival of Kim Possible and Shego.

While the courts offered to mitigate his sentence after his exemplary performance in Electonique’s lair, Hego chose to continue serving out his sentence. Hego felt (and Stu admittedly agreed) that by continuing to pay his debt to society, Hego could not only have his heroic efforts coordinated by a much better managing agency (aka Global Justice), but he could also continue to receive therapy through one of the few individuals qualified to administer that therapy.

That was where Hego was now. In Dr. Stuart Pendus’ office, about to participate in his weekly therapy session.

Hego stepped over to the reclining sofa and sat down on it. The sofa was decidedly too small for the fallen hero—so much so as to make it comical. So Hego chose not to lie back.

Stu sat down in a comfortable armchair near Hego and smiled at the fallen hero. “So, Henry, would you like to tell me about your week?”

Hego nodded. This was a standard question. It allowed Stu to get a feel for Hego’s emotional state, his achievements and his frustrations.

“Well, Global Justice has been gracious in flying me out the Gulf Coast regions to aid in the continuing reconstruction efforts following Hurricane Katrina,” Hego began. “They’ve been focusing my efforts on rural regions without easy access to construction crews and contractors. With the guidance of Global Justice engineers, I’ve made good headway in rebuilding homes and businesses for smaller towns.”

“How does that make you feel?” Stu asked, looking at the hero.

“Pretty damn good, actually,” Hego smiled as he nodded. Swearing was also a recent development for the hero. Until recently, he had found the practice uncouth in the extreme and suitable only for potty-mouthed villains like his sister, Shego. But prison life tends to change a person and Hego was now willing to concede that moderate doses of vulgarity in appropriate settings and in appropriate context was socially acceptable. “I mean, yes, I get the constant questions of why I’m in prison. But now they come mostly younger children who I would like to mentor and guide away from the path of villainy. In the meantime, the adults are just too overwhelmed that a international hero like myself is willing to take time to help a simple family rebuild their home that they just don’t ask anymore. And that makes me proud—I may be making a difference one family at a time, but I’m making a tangible difference. And I can see it in their eyes.”

Stu smiled and nodded. He had come to expect no less of an answer from the fallen hero. “So this is a far cry different from the high-profile battles you have had to conduct against villains like Aviarius, the Mathter, and Electronique?”

“Oh, yes,” Hego replied. “With this, I’m adding to society, not taking away from villainy. And I get an immediate sense of gratification when I see the looks on the family’s faces.”

Stu paused for a moment. “Well, what would you think of participating in the advancement of humanity, as opposed to the reparation of it?”

Hego thought about that a moment. “Well, I would like to see my work on the Gulf Coast through, but... what do you mean by the advancement of humanity?”

Stu smiled. “I have been contacted by Dr. James Possible, the father of your friend and colleague, Kimberly Possible. He’s personally requested your assistance at the Middleton Space Center.”

Hego rose a brow to that.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Vivian strode out of her office and stretched, yawning into a balled-up fist. Her long blond hair was disheveled and her lab coat was rumpled. She had slept overnight in her office again. But she really didn’t care. There was work to get done. And, by damn, she was going to get it done.

Glancing to her right, Vivian noticed Oliver. The android was standing by, with a gentle smile on his face and a tray of cold cut snacks in his hands.

Vivian smiled thinly and sighed. What would she do without Oliver? She wouldn’t know what to do with herself. She would be the classic Absent-Minded Professor.

“Thank you so much, Oliver,” Vivian said, accepting the tray. “We ready for another day of trials?”

“Actually,” Oliver said ominously, “according to Dr. Possible, we have a guest to assist us with the construction of the lunar robots.”

“Oh?” Vivian asked, raising a brow.

“Yeah,” Oliver replied. “He’s already in the lab with Dr. Possible, a Global Justice agent, and... a ninja?”

“Oooookay,” Vivian chuckled. She and Oliver began to walk towards the lab. “A ninja. Not sure what to make of that. But...” Vivian then paused. “Wait. A Global Justice agent _and_ a ninja?”

Oliver turned and considered his creator. “Well, yes, that’s what I said.”

Vivian smiled brightly. “Will and Yori are here!” She then ran down the hallway towards the lab. Oliver, who was built to resemble a tall but portly human male, kept up as best as he could.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Vivian stumbled into the lab and skidded to a halt. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight in front of her. A tall, broad-shouldered man, easily over six and a half feet tall, with large, well defined muscles and tousled blue-black hair, stood in the center of the room with his back to the door from which Vivian had entered. He was wearing nothing more than a pair of modest boxer-briefs which left little to the imagination.

Even Oliver, an android programmed with male idiosyncrasies, had to whisper “Woah.”

Vivian couldn’t help but agree.

Right in front of Vivian and Oliver, Dr. James Possible blinked and turned to face the scientist and her creation. “Vivian, you’re here. Good.”

“Um,” Vivian stammered, licking her lips in a vain attempt to moisten her now dry mouth. “What is going on? And where are Will and Yori? I was just told they were here.”

“We are over here, Vivian-san!” came a feminine voice from over to the side. Vivian turned just in time to see the Yamanouchi ninja, Yori, approach and envelope the beautiful blond in an affectionate hug.

“I am here as the official Global Justice liaison and escort for the prisoner, Henry Goldberg,” Special Agent Will Du explained from behind Yori. “He could not be allowed to leave the United Nations’ Department of Global Justice and Law Enforcement Metahuman Correctional Facility of South Florida without an escort. Yori here is contracted by Global Justice to assist me in the operation.”

“The United Nations... Global Justice... what?” Vivian asked, blinking.

“Will-kun refers to the Crate,” Yori giggled. “It was my honor to assist Will-kun in this operation, an operation designed specifically to allow Hego-san to assist in this research while allowing Will-kun and I to spend time together. Director-san is quite deliciously devious when she wishes to be.”

Will Du rolled his eyes at that. Of course, Yori was speaking truthfully. But it still made him feel better to keep a veneer of professionalism on the matter.

Vivian smiled at that. “I’m so glad you’re here, Yori. Maybe later, if your operation allows, we can go hang out. Get some girl time in.”

“It would be my honor,” Yori smiled.

“But first,” Vivian said, turning to James. “Hego?”

“Well, yes,” James replied, clearing his throat. “You see, Hego here is capable of lifting over 100 metric tons while in Earth’s gravity. While part of that comes from his comet powers, part of it comes from his metahuman frame. I thought that maybe you could utilize him, much like an artist utilizes a posing model...”

“I could model the robot chassis after Hego’s body and actually get some headway on this project,” Vivian breathed, turning to Hego and eying him appreciatively. “You’re brilliant, James.”

“Well, I do have a modest view of my intelligence,” James admitted. “But everything about this project has been entirely you. Without your brilliant work on robotics and artificial intelligence, we would not have even been granted this contract, let alone gotten so far so quickly with it.”

Vivian nodded knowingly and turned to Hego. Hego was still standing in the center of the room. He was inside of a ultra-diamond chamber, probably undergoing various scans of his skeletal and muscular systems. Scans that would soon prove invaluable in designing the lunar labor robots.

Being inside of the chamber probably meant that Hego hadn’t heard anything that was just discussed. He probably didn’t even know that Vivian was there yet.

Vivian carefully stepped around the chamber, running her fingers gently along the clear ultra-diamond walls as she gazed up on Hego’s defined body. As she circled the chamber, she glanced up at the large fallen hero’s face. Hego had a square face with a solid, cleft chin. Vivian’s blue eyes danced down Hego’s thick neck and over his bold, defined pectoral muscles. She allowed herself the luxury of admiring his rippled abdominal muscles before closing her eyes, cutting herself from the temptation of gazing down further.

Hego, who had his eyes shut for the entirety of the scan, slowly opened them and saw Vivian standing there. The scientist has one hand on the chamber wall and had her eyes closed. He smiled softly at the sight.

“I never would have thought...,” Oliver whispered.

The whisper had been so soft that only James, who was standing right next to him, heard him.

“What is it, Oliver?” James asked, respectfully keeping his whisper to a similar volume.

“When Dr. Porter created me,” Oliver replied in a whisper, “I had believed that she had created me in the image of what she found attractive in a man. Intelligent and self-confident yet geeky and accessible. However, when she laid eyes on Mr. Goldberg, I picked up on her vitals. Her pulse and body temperature both rose slightly.”

“Does that bother you, Oliver?” James asked carefully. This was an important question. Oliver had served as Vivian’s “boyfriend” for several years. A jealous android was not a laughing matter.

Oliver shook his head. “No, it does not. I am an android. While I can emulate various human emotions, I do not actually feel them. In fact, I have been advising Dr. Porter to seek a human partner for quite some time, for the sake of her psychological health. I just find it curious that she is becoming attracted to someone who is not... how should I put it... an egghead?”

James chuckled and turned back to the scene in the lab.

Suddenly, the chamber door opened and Hego stepped out. Turning to the blond scientist, Hego extended a large hand in offer of a handshake. “Dr. Vivian Porter, I presume?”

Vivian smiled sheepishly and accepted the handshake. “You would be right. Hego, I presume?”

“Please, Dr. Porter,” Hego smiled. “I am out of uniform and not on patrol. Call me Henry.”

“Then I am Vivian,” Vivian smiled. “Thank you for helping us with our project.”

Hego waved a hand as if his actions were of little consequence. “A permanent manned station on the Moon would be a bold step forward in man’s exploration of the solar system. Whatever little assistance I can offer is nothing less than my absolute pleasure.”

“I’m glad,” Vivian gushed.

James nodded thoughtfully and turned back to Oliver. “Shall we leave and give the two of them some time. Will Du and Yori will have to remain, of course, but at least the two of us can give them some privacy.”

Oliver nodded and smiled. “I think that is a good idea.”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

“This one is finished!”

“So is this one!”

“Hicka-bicka-boo!”

“Hoosha!”

The twins, Jim and Tim Possible, the “Tweebs” as their sister Kim Possible called them, leapt down from their respective robots. Now fifteen years of age (approaching sixteen), the Tweebs were being given more and more responsibilities with honest jobs at the Middleton Space Center. One of those jobs included assisting full-fledged scientists on their projects.

Tonight, they were helping Dr. Vivian Porter with her lunar labor robots.

Vivian eyed the ten robots that were currently in formation in front of her appreciatively. All of them had bodies similar to Hego’s, with large barrel chests, large arms, narrow waists, and strong legs. Initial computerized trials indicated that they would more than adequately meet the Stellar Explorers’ specifications.

“I just finished mine as well, Dr. Porter,” Oliver added, walking up to the group.

Standing next to Vivian was Hego, Will Du, and Yori. Hego nodded as he admired the robots.

“They certainly do look tall and strong, don’t they?” Hego smiled, knowing full well how full of himself he sounded as he spoke the words.

“Yes, they certainly do,” Vivian smirked, glancing up at Hego’s smiling face.

“Well,” Will Du sighed. “It appears that our work here is done. I am afraid that Yori and I must now escort Mr. Goldberg back to the Uni...”

“...to the Crate,” Yori quickly interrupted, smirking and nudging her boyfriend. “It was our honor to assist in your endeavors today.”

Vivian’s smirk faded slightly. “Wait, how about I take us out to dinner? We’ll make it a company function, to discuss future plans in case we need Henry’s further assistance.”

“Well, such discussions should be cleared by Dr. Director herself before... ow!” Will Du began before suddenly jumping and nursing the side of his ribs, glancing at Yori quizzically.

Yori, nonplussed, smiled knowingly at Vivian. “It would be our honor to accompany you to dinner, Vivian-san.

“Well, Tim and I will check over...,” Jim Possible began, holding up a clipboard.

”...the last checklists before heading home ourselves,” Tim Possible finished.

“Thank you, Jim, Tim,” Vivian smiled. “I think what we’ve done here is a success.” She then turned to Hego, Will Du, and Yori. “Let’s head out, then. Crimson Crab, my treat.”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

In a darkened room, a sinister figure glanced around at the consoles strewn around him in a sloppy, haphazard, half-circular formation. Cackling softly to himself, he began the intricate dance of fingers across keyboards. Hacking was much like a real world fight... with the strikes and counter-strikes, blocks and ripostes, dodges and parries. But the action was more visceral, more... meaningful. Instead of fighting for blood or sport, one fought for information. And as any third grader could tell a person, information meant power.

The cyber defenses of his target was admittedly daunting. One of the most difficult series of firewalls and hacking counter-measures he had ever encountered. The resources that his target could bring to bear to its defense could not... _would_ not... be underestimated.

But then again, he had hacked the systems of one Wade Load, one of the world’s leading geniuses in computer technologies. If one has outsmarted Wade Load on the cyber realm, one has made a name for himself and was ready for the big time.

Finally, after a couple of hours of intricate cyber warfare, he was in. He was in the systems of the Middleton Space Center. The sinister figure laughed maniacally at his success.

And, since no one was near the WiFi Shack store into which he had broken and entered, no one heard him laugh.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

“Well, everything checks out at my end,” Tim Possible yelled to his brother.

“Same here as well, bro,” Jim Possible replied, walking towards Tim.

The Tweebs stopped and considered the robots. It had been about an hour since Dr. Porter and the others had left. There was nothing left to do but go home.

“Let’s head out then,” Tim smiled. “Mom’s promised us brain loaf tonight.”

“Brain loaf?” Jim grinned knowingly. “Hoosha! Let’s get going then!”

As the Tweebs started to walk towards the door, though, the eyes of the robots began to light up one by one.

“PROTOCOLS INITIATED,” one of the robots spoke.

“COMMENCING NEW PROGRAMMING,” another robot spoke.

One by one, the robots began to step forward.

Jim and Tim slowly turned around to see the robots all stepping forward and taking flight, crashing through the ceiling and flying off into the night. The Tweebs covered their eyes with their forearms in an attempt to stave off the debris and dust.

“Uh-oh,” Jim breathed, gazing up through the hole in the ceiling.

“We’re in trouble,” Tim agreed, staring at the same hole.

“We better call Dad.”

“And Wade.”

With that, the Tweebs turned around and ran out of the room.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

“And that was when I turned to the Juggler and said, ‘Hold, Evildoer! Your villainy will not go unpunished this day!’ I swear, the look on his face was priceless. Then again, I was so absorbed in my hero persona that I didn’t hear Mego or Shego groan at it. I was such a tool back then.”

Vivian shook her head mirthfully as Hego chuckled softly at his self-deprecation. The two of them, along with Hego’s escorts, Will Du and Yori, were at Middleton’s Crimson Crab, enjoying a meal. Along with Crimson Crab’s signature cheesy biscuits, the group had ordered stuffed mushrooms as appetizers and various entrees to taste. Hego had a steak and lobster meal. Vivian went with a light shrimp salad. Will Du settled for a bowl of clam chowder and a chicken strip salad. Yori, surprisingly, went with shrimp, scallops, clam strips, and a flounder fillet.

“No, Hego, you were not a tool. I grew up idolizing Team Go. Here were a bunch of teens about my age, going out there and fighting the good fight, doing things the rest of us could only dream of doing. I had posters of both you and Mego on my bedroom wall while I was in high school, believe it or not.”

“But not Shego?” Hego asked, raising a brow at the blond scientist.

Vivian shook her head. “I never was much into Shego, even before she left Team Go. I guess I liked the boys over the girls. I was such a geeky schoolgirl back then.”

“You were a geeky schoolgirl?” Hego asked, taking another bite of his lobster.

Vivian laughed. “Are you kidding? I had the bucktooth braces, the hornrim glasses, the mismatched pigtails, the bad fashion sense, the whole nine yards. It wasn’t until after I graduated high school, got out from under my parents, and made some friends in college that I switched to contacts and miniskirts.”

“I bet _that_ was a sight to be seen,” Hego smiled.

Vivian snorted. “Heh, right! Vivian Francis ‘Mortimer Snerd’ Porter, class geek.”

“It is always the underdog who makes the most powerful of individuals,” Hego pointed out. “Look at Mego. He went from being the most ridiculed member of Team Go, due to his relatively benign power, to being the leader of the expanded Team Possible for several months. He’s also the first of us to marry and start a family.”

Hego then fell silent as he remembered the first time Mego and Kris had come to visit Hego at the Crate with little Jesse James Goldberg in tow. The little baby was barely a handful for the large hero, so tiny and fragile. But holding his nephew had meant so much for Hego and the parents were so patient with their pointers on how to handle him properly.

Vivian smiled. “You’re right. The underdogs _are_ underestimated potential.”

“Besides, I kinda have a thing for geeks,” Hego muttered softly, suddenly focusing on his attention on the plate in front of him.

Vivian smirked at the suddenly embarrassed hero. On a whim, she stood up.

“I think I need to powder my nose,” Vivian said, straightening out her miniskirt. “Yori, care to join me?”

Will Du and Yori, who had quietly sat at the other side of the table and listened to the hero and scientist banter with each other, suddenly looked at each other. Yori smirked and looked back at Vivian.

“It would be my honor to join you,” Yori said, standing up and following the blond to the other side of the restaurant.

Will Du watched the two women leave and then turned back to Hego. “I did not know that women needed to powder their noses at all, let alone in a public restroom.”

Hego simply arched a brow at the no-nonsense agent and took another bite of his steak.

After a few moments of silence between the agent and hero, the girls came back to the table. Both men’s eyes almost popped out of their skulls.

Yori was wearing the outfit that Vivian _had_ been wearing. A blue tube top with a black miniskirt accentuated her subtle curves in a sensuous manner. Yori smirked knowingly at Will Du, who only swallowed the food in his mouth and gawked at the Yamanouchi ninja.

Vivian, on the other hand, was now wearing the outfit Yori had been wearing. A pair of faded jeans, a camisole, a waist sash, and an open-front hoodie did little to hide Vivian’s more pronounced curves. On top of that, Vivian was now wearing her spare eyeglasses, the ones she carried in case she had to remove her contacts. In a few words, Vivian suddenly looked like a coffee house hipster.

A very attractive coffee house hipster.

Hego swallowed the food in his mouth and gawked at the scientist.

As the girls were enjoying the reactions of their respective dates, a beeper suddenly went off.

Sighing and putting on her best “game face” smile, Yori drew out the Kimmunicator from her purse and opened it up. The face of Kim Possible’s good friend and webmaster, Wade Load, came onto the screen.

“Hey, Yori!” Wade said, waving through the screen.

“Greetings, Wade-chan,” Yori replied. “It is an honor to speak to you again. As Kim-san would say, what is the ‘sitch’?”

“According to the Tweebs, a group of robots just broke out of the Space Center a little while ago,” Wade reported grimly. “Someone apparently hacked into their AI’s and programmed them to ransack all of the local banks of Middleton.”

Yori narrowed her eyes. “And Hego-san and I are the two Team Possible members closest to this incident to respond.”

“Yeah,” Wade nodded. “Everyone else except for me are back in Vancouver. So it’s up to you guys.”

“You are, of course, back-tracing the infiltration,” Yori said.

“Yeah,” Wade replied. “In fact, I’ve figured out that the hacking is coming from a Wifi Shack store close to the downtown area. Our villain is probably there.”

“Wait?” Hego asked, looking around at the other three. “What sort of nefarious villain possesses the skills to hack into the Middleton Space Center yet needs to do so from a Wifi Shack store?”

The four heroes looked around at each other for several moments before all four spoke the same name at once.

“Frugal Lucre.”

“We had better get going,” Will Du said, standing up. “If we go to that Wifi Shack store, we can confront Frugal Lucre and have him reverse the programming on the robots.”

“I’ll pay the tab and head over to the Space Center to see if I can override the programming from there,” Vivian nodded. “You guys be careful, please.”

“Don’t worry, Vivian,” Hego smiled. “I will be there. No harm will come to either Will Du or Yori.”

“Hego,” Vivian said suddenly, looking plaintively at the hero. “Also, please try your best not to damage the robots. They are hella expensive. Their destruction would set the lunar labor robot project back by weeks. On top of that, they’re designed with your strength in mind. They can really hurt you.”

Hego considered Vivian’s words carefully. “I will be careful, then. Your project, your work, means a lot to me because it means a lot to mank...mmmphhh!”

Hego’s words were suddenly cut off when Vivian jumped up, wrapped her arms around Hego’s neck, and planted a solid kiss on the hero’s lips.

Yori stepped up next to Will Du and chuckled. “It is about time, Vivian-san. You have been wanting to do that all evening, I am sure.”

After several moments, Vivian finally broke the kiss and gazed into Hego’s eyes, resting her forehead on his.

“I don’t normally kiss on the first date,” Vivian said quietly. “But I’ve been crushing on you since I was fifteen years old. Today has been a dream come true to me.”

Hego smiled softly and brought a finger up to trace Vivian’s lips. “I think you just made it one for me, too, Vivian.”

“We better get moving,” Will Du pointed out, smiling knowingly at the hero and scientist before turning and heading for the door.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Frugal Lucre cackled maniacally at the array of keyboards strewn about him. The dim glow of the half-dozen monitors sitting on the floor in a half-circle around him were the only things lighting the room.

“Finally!” Frugal Lucre smiled. “Once I drain Middleton’s banks of all of their reserve cash stores, all of Middleton’s citizens will be on even footing! They will all turn to me for succor and support. Hell, they might even vote me in as mayor or something!”

“I do not think so, Francis Lurman,” a voice came from behind the villain. He turned his head slowly to see Will Du standing behind him. Will’s special-issue pistol was pointed straight at the villain’s head.

“Bwahahahaha!” Frugal Lucre laughed. “You think you have me, Global Justice flunky?”

Will Du rose a brow to that. “Well, I do have a dangerous pistol to your head. For you to escape you would have to rise from your sitting position and...”

Before Will Du could speak any further, Frugal Lucre splashed Will Du in the face with the 44 oz Mighty Swig soda drink sitting at his side. Lucre then tumbled between Will Du’s stumbling legs. Grabbing a coil of coaxial cable from a nearby display, Lucre clobbered Will Du in the back of the head. Will Du stumbled forward and fought to regain his bearings.

Frugal Lucre backflipped over the checkout counter and produced a pricing gun, pointing it at Will Du’s head. “Face it, flunky? You _thought_ to overcome Frugal Lucre in his _natural environment_ , but now I have you _dead_ to rights.”

Will Du narrowed his eyes at the villain. “Seriously, Lurman? You have a _pricing gun_ pointed at me.”

“Yes,” Frugal Lucre agreed. “But _each and every_ price tag loaded into this pricing gun is saturated with _chlorine bleach_! A few hundred shots or so and you’ll be overcome with bleach poisoning. Plus your clothes will be ruined!”

“Oh, how did Kim Possible _ever_ defeat your ingenuity?” Will Du asked in a deadpan tone.

“She got _lucky_ ,” Frugal Lucre sneered. “She cost me my job at Smarty Mart, too. But less about my worthy arch-nemesis and more about your insignificant self.”

“Lurman,” Will Du sighed. “I am a trained agent of the United Nations’ Division of Global Justice and Law Enforcement. One of the most highly decorated, in fact, outside of Dr. Betty Director herself. I could have that pricing gun out of your hands before you could pull the trigger once. What purpose could you possibly have in taunting me with it? Simply call off the robots and return the money to the banks and we might be able to mitigate your sentence.”

“Except for one thing, flunky,” Frugal Lucre growled, a self-satisfied smug look on his face.

“And that would be?” Will Du asked.

As if on cue, all of the computer monitors set up on the floor behind Will Du began to fizzle, crackle, spark, and burn. The acrid smoke that filled the room caused Will Du to cough and wave away the smoke in his face.

“I had the consoles set up to self-destruct if I left them unattended for more than a few moments,” Frugal Lucre cackled. “Now there is no stopping my evil scheme from succeeded! Bwahahahaha!”

Frugal Lucre took advantage of the smoke in Will Du’s face to flip over the agent. Lucre picked up a ruined monitor and swung it upwards. The monitor clocked Will Du in the face, causing the agent to stumble backwards with a grunt. Before Lucre could swing the monitor again, however, Will Du hauled back and punched Lucre square in the nose. The villain fell like a house of cards.

“The scheme’s success won’t do you much good if you’re already in custody,” Will Du muttered, shaking off his hand. He then reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a walkie-talkie. “Guys, we have a problem. The computers controlling the robots have self destructed.”

“Acknowledged, Will-kun,” Yori’s voice crackled in response. “It is up to us now. It shall be our honor to defeat these robots.”

“FOR JUSTICE!” Hego’s voice bellowed over the connection.

Despite himself, Will Du allowed himself a small smile at Hego’s enthusiasm.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Hego stood resolute in the center of the street in downtown Middleton. At his back, appearing like barely a slip of woman in comparison to Hego’s huge frame, Yori stood every bit as resolute, her twin ninja-to swords in hand. Around the two heroes, ten large robots, built much like Hego, advanced forward. It was clear that they were converging on the spot that the heroes stood.

“Perhaps we should restrain each robot?” Hego suggested.

“With what?” Yori asked. “Each of these robots are built to be as strong as you. Anything you can use to tie them up, they will be strong enough to break out of.”

“And beating them down is out of the question,” Hego sighed.

“Unless you are willing to undo all of the hard work you put into helping Dr. Porter’s work come to fruition, Hego-san,” Yori replied.

“I cannot... will not... allow that to happen,” Hego growled, standing up from his battle stance. “Vivian has put her faith in me as a hero. As a man. I cannot let her down now.”

Yori turned to see Hego walk towards one of the robots. She stood and watched the hero curiously. “Hego-san, what are you doing?”

“These things are artificially intelligent,” Hego explained. “I’m going to try something.”

Yori sheathed her ninja-to swords and watched Hego carefully.

Hego approached one of the robots with both hands in the air in a show of pacifism. “Hold, friend robot. Care to explain your business?”

Yori slapped her hand over her eyes. As if the robots were going to stop and explain...

“WE ARE RELOCATING THE LIQUID ASSETS OF THE CITIZENS OF MIDDLETON INTO THE HANDS OF FRUGAL LUCRE,” the robot replied.

Yori paused and glanced out from between two of her fingers. Okay, maybe the robot did stop and explain its mission.

“And to what purpose would such an endeavor serve, friend robot?” Hego asked.

“IT SHALL CREATE ECONOMIC EQUALITY FOR ALL OF THE CITIZENS OF MIDDLETON,” the robot replied.

Hego thought about that a moment, a hand curled around his solid chin. Then he looked back at the robot. “Isn’t Francis Lurman, aka Frugal Lucre, a citizen of Middleton?”

“COMPUTING. COMPUTING,” the robot replied. “YES. FRANCIS LURMAN IS REGISTERED AS A CITIZEN OF MIDDLETON, DUE TO HIS INCARCERATION AND RELOCATION TO THE GLOBAL JUSTICE METAHUMAN CORRECTIONAL FACILITY OF MIDDLETON.”

_Now for the the checkmate,_ Hego thought smugly. _Shego would be so proud of me._

“That doesn’t make any sense, then,” Hego stated bluntly. “How would putting all of the money in Middleton in one Middleton citizen’s hands, leaving the rest of the citizens in destitution, create economic equality among _all_ of the citizens of Middleton?”

The robot’s eyes flickered wildly at that point. “COMPUTING! COMPUTING! ERROR! ERROR! DOES NOT COMPUTE! DOES NOT COMPUTE! LOGIC ERROR! LOGIC ERROR! COMMENCING SHUTDOWN!”

In unison, all ten robots dropped their monetary payloads and began to gesticulate wildly until finally, one by one, they powered down. Their eyes flickered out each in turn. Within a few minutes, it seemed as if Hego and Yori were surrounded by metallic statues.

Yori blinked and looked around, surprised. “I... I am impressed, Hego-san,” she finally admitted. “You did it. You defeated the robots without damaging them.”

Hego chuckled. “Trust me, Yori. After you’ve sent a couple of decades with someone whose ego is as massive as Mego’s was before his marriage, you learn to play mind games. Just because I was never able to pull one over on Shego doesn’t mean I can’t pull one over on robots.”

Yori smiled and pulled her Kimmunicator from her belt pouch. “Wade-chan? It is Yori. It is my honor to inform you that the situation has been resolved. You may contact Dr. Porter and Dr. Possible and inform them that the robots are undamaged, inert, and ready to be retrieved.

“Fantastic!” Wade’s voice replied from the device. “Vivian and Dr. Possible will be happy to hear that. I’ll let them know. I also have a Global Justice unit swinging by to take Frugal Lucre back into custody.”

Hego smiled and folded his arms in front of him. The breeze blowing through played with his hair in a dramatic fashion as he considered the scene around him. The villain was defeated and his nefarious plot thwarted. The good guys had saved the day.

All in a day’s work for a hero like Hego.

FOR JUSTICE!

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

“So, let me get this straight,” Shego smirked, leaning back against the wall behind her and looking at her eldest brother in amused disbelief. “You talked to the robots and convinced them to shut down.”

Hego shrugged. He was back at the Crate, in the visitor’s room, with a nullifier collar and metahuman shackles on. It was part of his sentence. But by this point, the restraints were nothing more than a formality.

“That’s pretty much how it happened, Sheila,” Hego smiled.

Shego shook her head. “That is incredible. If not for Yori’s testimony, I wouldn’t even waste my time believing it.”

“I think it’s spankin’ that he’s learning to use his brain instead of his brawn,” Shego’s fiancé, Kim Possible, interjected. She then turned to Hego. “I think you did a great job out there, Henry.”

“Thank you, Mis... er, Kim,” Hego smiled. He had to catch himself. Kim was going to be his sister-in-law. He had to treat her like family, not like a citizen.

“Okay, fine,” Shego sighed, waving the whole situation away with a swish of her hand. “Whatever. Yeah, Hank, you big lug, you did great. Way to win the argument against the big, scary, dumb robots. You happy, Kimmie?”

“Ecstatic,” Kim smirked. “And you’re paying for that sarcasm tonight, you know that, right?”

Shego grinned evilly. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Good, because it will only take me a matter of moments to get the bedding I need to sleep on the sofa in my office tonight.”

Shego blanched at that. Apparently, she had been expecting a much different outcome.

“Um, I mean,” Shego stammered. “I’m... I’m sorry, Hank. I’m being a bitch. I’m honestly surprised you handled that situation how you did. You’re really turning into a smarter hero.”

Kim purred in satisfaction before crossing the room and kissing Shego lightly on the cheek.

“I’ll get you for this, Possible,” Shego growled playfully.

“Now, _that_ I’m looking forward to,” Kim laughed.

“Speaking of all of this flirting,” Shego suddenly brightened before turning back to Hego. “What is this I’m hearing about you and Vivian, you big lug?”

Hego blushed ferociously and turned his head away.

“She can’t possibly want me,” Hego muttered. “I am a convicted felon.”

Both Shego and Kim paused at that. Part of each of them felt for Hego. The other part of each of them reminded them that his actions against them was what had landed him in the Crate.

“Actually, I have an answer to that, Hego.”

Shego, Kim, and Hego’s eyes went to the doorway, where Dr. Betty Director had suddenly appeared. Behind her stood one Dr. Vivian Porter.

Hego stood up as a show of courteousness. “Dr. Director! Vivian!”

Vivian strode past Betty and wrapped her arms around the big hero’s waist, snuggling her face happily into Hego’s chest. “Hego, I know it’s only been a week, but I’ve missed you already.”

“I’ve missed you too, Vivian,” Hego smiled.

“I don’t care that you’re a convicted felon, Hego,” Vivian murmured. “You’re working hard to turn your life around. You know how few men actually do that? And you’re a real hero now. I don’t want a perfect paragon of a superhero, with a squeaky clean record, throngs of adoring fans, and an impeccable public persona. I want a good man who works hard to be the best that he can be. I may have crushed on Hego, but I’ve fallen in love with Henry Goldberg.”

“Vivian...,” Hego breathed, stunned. He honestly didn’t know how to respond to that.

“And now for some more good news,” Betty said, smiling. The single good eye on the Global Justice leader twinkled with satisfaction. “Hego, Dr. Pendus has cleared you for extended supervised community service. No more single day outings. You’re going to be on-call and performing multi-week tasks. To facilitate this, we’re having you transferred to the minimum security section of the Global Justice prison in Middleton. You’ll be performing your community service under the supervision of one of your teammates on Team Possible.”

Hego blinked a couple of times and then grinned like a little boy on Christmas. “So, may I assume that my supervisor will be young Wade Load, since he is the only member of Team Possible in permanent residence in Middleton?”

Vivian grinned mischievously up at the big hero. “No, it’s me!”

Hego’s eyes grew wide at that announcement.

“We made her a part of Team Possible this morning,” Kim smiled. “We’ll be consulting with Vivian on matters of robotics and artificial intelligence. She’ll also be working with Wade to shore up security breaches like the one the Space Center that Frugal Lucre exploited last week.”

“And I’ll also be commanding you to do _whatever_ I want,” Vivian grinned playfully.

“Which will include 20 hours of _actual_ community service _work_ each week,” Betty added firmly, eliciting soft laughter from everyone in the room.

Hego smiled down at Vivian and he suddenly realized that everything was now right in the world. He had found someone to love who loved him in return. _Had_ loved him since the days of Team Go and Gloria Whitedove’s death, had he only known to look. But she was here now, holding him. And he was going to be allowed to spend at least 20 hours each week with her for some time to come.

It was ironic.

Through robots, Hego had found redemption.

As that realization entered Hego’s mind, Vivian pulled herself up onto Hego’s neck and kissed him deeply.

**[END ROBOTS & REDEMPTION]**


End file.
